Milford Zornes was recognized as a leader in the California Style watercolor movement which began in the early 1930’s. Zornes’ style differed from the traditional use of watercolors in which color was added to detailed pencil drawings. His work is characterized by the application of transparent washes of color to large sheets of paper, allowing the white to show through and define shapes.

Zornes’ paintings are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the White House, and the Library of Congress Collection. He also created New Deal murals for post offices in his hometown of Claremont, California and in El Campo, Texas. In 1942, while a teacher at the Otis Art Institute, Zornes directed the painting of a fresco at the Ramona Bowl amphitheater in Hemet, California.

The Claremont Museum of Art will host the 14th Annual Padua Hills Art Fiesta on Sunday, November 5 with an outdoor art show, exhibition and film, craft demonstrations, music and festive foods. Visitors can shop for unique original artwork as they stroll through the beautiful olive groves of the Padua Hills Theatre. The exhibition will feature artist Milford Zornes along with the premiere of a new film Milford Zornes: The Claremont Connection. Read more.

Sacramento, CA (August 31, 2017) – Following 100 years of an artist’s journey through life, “Happiness is Warm Color in the Shade: a biography of artist Milford Zornes” will take you from the Panhandle of Oklahoma to Idaho, and then to Southern California where this future National Academician became involved with the California Scene Painters. Go with him to China, Burma and India during World War II, and accompany him to Greenland and, eventually, on to Maynard Dixon’s home and studio in Utah. Hear Zornes’ stories as he talks about being a world traveler who expresses his experience in his paintings.

Milford Zornes left an extensive legacy of paintings, mentor-ships and workshops. Learn from other artists how Zornes influenced their lives, and find out about the role Pat Zorens played in Milford’s life. Discover how Zornes adjusted to painting and teaching with limited vision due to macular degeneration.